Canucks surviving some growing pains

Iain MacIntyre, Vancouver Sun columnist12.15.2013

Roberto Luongo #40 of the Vancouver Canucks stops the puck in front of Patrice Bergeron #37 of the Boston Bruins while Kevin Bieksa #3 stops Brad Marchand #63 during an NHL game at Rogers Arena on December 14, 2013 in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.

Related

VANCOUVER - As the goals piled up Saturday night like exclamation points, as unnecessary as they were fun, you were not the only one thinking the Vancouver Canucks could have used a couple of them 2 1/2 years ago.

“I was thinking about it during the game,” defenceman Dan Hamhuis admitted after the Canucks’ slapped the Boston Bruins 6-2. “It would have been nice to see that score up there about three years ago. You can’t do anything about that now.”

No, you can’t. The 2011 Stanley Cup is so over — so lost — and the Bruins are never giving it back.

“It’s nice to win ... but they’ve got the Cup,” Vancouver captain Henrik Sedin said. “We won a game. For us, it was a great opponent coming in, but nothing more than that.”

Still, it seemed something more than that when Ryan Kesler initiated a fight with new Bruin Jarome Iginla six minutes after the opening faceoff, and Hamhuis, who hasn’t had a fighting major since joining the Canucks in 2010, later traded punches with the former Calgary Flame.

There was something therapeutic in handily beating the Bruins, and it will probably be like that for years for the team they bullied and finally beat in that epic Stanley Cup Final in 2011.

But the more goals the Canucks poured in during the final 35 minutes of the Bruins’ first visit since the victory parade in Boston, the louder and more rollicking Rogers Arena became, the more futile it seemed as any measure of revenge.

The teams have changed, although the core of players is largely the same. But the animosity among them has abated, even if the most despised Bruin, Brad Marchand, is still stuck in Grade 9, kissing his Stanley Cup ring finger a couple of times Saturday and pumping his arms once as if he were lifting the trophy.

“It shows what kind of guy he is,” Sedin said. “He’s a great player. It’s too bad he’s acting like he does, but that’s the way it is.”

And this is the way it is: by beating the Bruins, 25 hours after handling the Edmonton Oilers 4-0, the Canucks have won seven straight National Hockey League games. They have outscored opponents 24-8 during their streak, re-ignited their power play, established a powerful new scoring line with Kesler between wingers Chris Higgins and Mike Santorelli, and survived the growing pains caused by coach John Tortorella’s hyper-aggressive system.

Canuck ear drums may not have survived Tortorella’s timeout tirade at 4:11 of the second period when Hamhuis’ turnover led to a tying goal by Reilly Smith and capped four minutes of desultory play — Vancouver winger David Booth rated the rant 10-out-of-10 on the Torts scale — but the team responded magnificently to achieve its most meaningful victory of the season.

Tortorella told a reporter it was “none of your business” what he screamed at players during the timeout.

“I have no idea,” Kesler claimed. “I was at the far end (of the bench) and I just saw his face and he wasn’t happy.” And Kesler wasn’t about to move closer to Tortorella to find out the cause of it.

The seven-game winning streak, matching the Canucks’ longest in nearly three years, has pushed them to the right side of the playoff race in the monstrous Western Conference.

Four weeks ago, they were six points out. Saturday’s win nudged their playoff “cushion” to four points, although most teams have played fewer games than Vancouver.

They are seven games further removed from losing the Stanley Cup, and seven games nearer to being able to compete for another one. The direction is good for the Canucks on both counts.

Until Zack Kassian becomes the player the Canucks project him to be, and David Booth the player he once was in Florida, Vancouver still appears a couple of forwards shy of taking any serious run at a title. But the Canucks look better than they’ve been in two years, and players believe their new system will be harder for opponents to break down in the playoffs than the old system. If the Canucks make the playoffs.

“I don’t think you’re ever done learning; you’re always trying to improve,” Kesler said before the Canucks travelled Sunday to Minnesota for the start Tuesday of a three-game road trip. “That’s what the best teams do — they continue to improve the entire year. I think, right now, this is the best defensively I’ve seen this club play in a long time. And offensively, we’re getting timely goals.

“I think we’re a different team. We grind it out. You hear Torts always say ‘play beneath the hash marks,’ and I think we do a good job of that. We wear teams down. The third period comes and you saw it (against the Bruins), things open up.”

“I think we’re smart-aggressive on this team,” Hamhuis said. “We have a very strong defensive mindset, but also are very aggressive offensively, and that makes us tough to play against.”

Scoring helps, too. During their 1-4-3 slump in November, the Canucks scored just one goal in five different games and managed more than two goals only once.

Indicative of how things have changed, Jannik Hansen scored Saturday from centre with a slapshot that knuckled off the stick of Bruin defenceman Zdeno Chara, and the Canucks chased Bruin starter Tuukka Rask with four goals on 23 shots.

“When the puck goes in, it builds team confidence,” Hamhuis said. “When you have confidence, then more goals start to go in. They build on each other. There have been a few games during this winning streak when we didn’t play a full 60 a minutes, a couple of games we didn’t deserve to win but won anyway. I think that comes from having a strong team confidence.”

“We’re more on the same page, I guess, getting used to what John wants,” Higgins explained. “It seems like we’re just playing more as a five-man unit now, whereas before we were still in between plays — whether to be aggressive or not. It has become a little more instinctual.”

Comments

We encourage all readers to share their views on our articles and blog posts. We are committed to maintaining a lively but civil forum for discussion, so we ask you to avoid personal attacks, and please keep your comments relevant and respectful. If you encounter a comment that is abusive, click the "X" in the upper right corner of the comment box to report spam or abuse. We are using Facebook commenting. Visit our FAQ page for more information.

Almost Done!

Postmedia wants to improve your reading experience as well as share the best deals and promotions from our advertisers with you. The information below will be used to optimize the content and make ads across the network more relevant to you. You can always change the information you share with us by editing your profile.

By clicking "Create Account", I hearby grant permission to Postmedia to use my account information to create my account.

I also accept and agree to be bound by Postmedia's Terms and Conditions with respect to my use of the Site and I have read and understand Postmedia's Privacy Statement. I consent to the collection, use, maintenance, and disclosure of my information in accordance with the Postmedia's Privacy Policy.

Postmedia wants to improve your reading experience as well as share the best deals and promotions from our advertisers with you. The information below will be used to optimize the content and make ads across the network more relevant to you. You can always change the information you share with us by editing your profile.

By clicking "Create Account", I hearby grant permission to Postmedia to use my account information to create my account.

I also accept and agree to be bound by Postmedia's Terms and Conditions with respect to my use of the Site and I have read and understand Postmedia's Privacy Statement. I consent to the collection, use, maintenance, and disclosure of my information in accordance with the Postmedia's Privacy Policy.